Category: Latest News

By Matt Smith

The Philadelphia Catholic League is loaded again.

For the first time in history, three PCL teams captured PIAA championships last March: Archbishop Wood (Class 4A) Cardinal O’Hara (5A) and West Catholic (2A). No one should be surprised if three or more teams from the best high school conference in Pennsylvania go on to win PIAA championships in 2022.

Delaware County’s three Catholic League squads are primed for success.

Cardinal O’Hara returns three of its five starters from a 15-4 team that won a PIAA state championship, including 6-foot-2 senior forward Maggie Doogan, the reigning Daily Times Player of the Year.  The Richmond commit was brilliant in the state final against Chartiers Valley and finished her junior campaign averaging 14 points and eight rebounds per game.

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By Jack McCaffery

Maggie Doogan knew for months that moment would arrive. Chrissie Doogan knew it for decades.

Maggie is the reigning All-Delco girls basketball Player of the Year about to enter her final season at Cardinal O’Hara High. Chrissie, her mother and the Lions’ head coach, was the Player of the Year in 1993. Together for the last three years, they have enjoyed the most recent burst of success of a program that has trafficked in great players and better teams since the late 1960s.

Beginning Saturday afternoon at the She’s Got Game Tournament in Washington, with a first-round game against St. Mary’s of Stockton, Calif., the final go-around at O’Hara for the two program greats will be on.

Already?

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By Matthew DeGeorge

The whispers started soon after the calendar flipped to 2018. There was this kid on the Chester JV team lighting it up. He was tall for his age, but more than that, was able to score in the lane, rebound and shoot. Against JV opposition, to the tune of 30 points per game, it was man-among-boys stuff.

It wouldn’t be long, they said, until that kid would get a look on varsity, at an age when few Clippers were afforded such a promotion. And maybe, just maybe …

The last part of that sentence is often left unsaid in Chester, and powerfully so. Maybe he’d be the one to lead the Clippers back to the PIAA promised land. Maybe he’d be the next one worthy of the city’s basketball lineage. Maybe … such a loaded word when it’s painted in orange and outlined in black.

Three years and more than 1,400 points later, the promise may not have been fulfilled all the way, Karell Watkins admits. But along the way, he built one of the most outstanding Chester careers ever.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

In addition to Player of the Year Karell Watkins of Chester, the rest of the 2021 All-Delco team includes:

Fareed Burton, Chester: The senior point guard was the floor general for the Clippers on the way to another Del Val League title, the District 1 Class 5A crown and the state semifinals. Burton averaged 16.3 points per game, second on the team only to Watkins, who was the beneficiary of many a pinpoint Burton feed. He also chipped in 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.4 steals per game. He led Chester with 27 made 3-pointers. Burton scored in double figures in 13 of 15 outings, topping out at 27 points in the state semifinal loss to Archbishop Ryan, the Clippers’ leading scorer on the night. Burton also scored 21 points in the states win over Crestwood and 22 in a one-point loss to Imhotep, the Clippers’ only setback of the regular season. Burton posted a triple-double of 17 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds (plus five steals) in a win over Interboro on Feb. 9.

(click on this link for all the All-Delco Team members)

By Matt Smith
Maggie Doogan hasn’t shied away from her bloodlines. She realizes how fortunate she is to be the daughter of a Big Five Hall of Fame player, yet she’s never felt pressure to follow in the footsteps of her mom.

Chrissie (Donahue) Doogan was a two-time Daily Times Player of the Year in her heyday at Cardinal O’Hara, who went on to become one of the greatest players in La Salle history, scoring 1,818 career points.

“It’s not a big deal,” Maggie said, smiling. “Her name is always in here (O’Hara’s gymnasium). Well, they took down the banner with her name, but it’s usually always in here. It’s not a big deal. I just try to play my best for O’Hara.”

Doogan focused on her development as a dynamic 6-foot-plus forward who can post up, defend, and shoot from just about anywhere on the floor. In 2021, her junior season, she became the best player in Delaware County and the latest in a long list of Daily Times Players of the Year from O’Hara.

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By Matt Smith
In addition to Cardinal O’Hara’s Maggie Doogan, the 2021 Daily Times Player of the Year, the All-Delco team includes:

Amaris Baker, Cardinal O’Hara: The senior guard was the floor general for the PIAA Class 5A champions. Her court savvy and leadership were critical to the team’s success. A three-year starter at O’Hara, Baker eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau in her senior year. She excelled in all three seasons with O’Hara after transferring from Baldwin School following her freshman year. The All-Catholic League selection earned All-Delco second-team honors a year ago. Baker averaged eight points and three assists per game. She will continue her basketball career at Kennesaw State in Georgia.

(click on this link for all the All-Delco Team members)

By Matt Smith

The All-Star Labor Classic is coming to Ridley High School.

The 34th annual boys and girls basketball showcase, which is sponsored by the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council, is slated for Sunday, April 18. The City All-Stars will face the Suburban All-Stars. The girls game is scheduled for a 12:15 p.m. tip, followed by the boys at 2:30.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event will be closed to the general public. Only the parents of the participants are permitted to attend.

“With a total of 18 players selected, Delaware County produced the most all-star basketball players for our 2021 All-Star Labor Classic,” said John J. Dougherty, business manager for the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council. “That’s a tribute to the depth of hoops talent in Delco and their coaches. We look forward to seeing all of them show off their prodigious hoops skills on Sunday, April 18th.”

In addition to being named to the All-Star team, every player also receives a partial college scholarship. Other proceeds raised through event sponsorships benefit a local charity. This year’s charity beneficiary is the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

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By Matt Smith

Siobhan Boylan was the only active freshman on Cardinal O’Hara’s 2017-2018 team.

She paid her dues.

As she progressed, Boylan became a secret weapon for the Lions. She learned plenty from Daily Times Player of the Year Maura Hendrixson, Kenzie Gardler and Molly Paolino, who were all senior standouts.

Boylan searched for a path to semi-consistent playing time off the bench. She was a rookie, looking to do little more than fill a roster spot vacated by two-time Daily Times Player of the Year Hannah Nihill, who led the team to a Catholic League title and an appearance in the 2016 PIAA Class 4A final.

“For me, as a freshman, I knew it was going to be difficult to fill those shoes, coming in after Hannah left,” she said. “I knew that would be hard because she was such a great player.”

Boylan earned the trust of former head coach Linus McGinity, who retired after Boylan’s freshman year. In the 2018 Catholic League semifinal round against Archbishop Wood, Boylan hit two foul shots with 10 seconds left to put the game out of reach. And, in the championship against Neumann-Goretti, Boylan came up with a steal and made two free throws in the third quarter. At the time the Lions were battling back from a nine-point deficit, looking for some kind of spark.

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By Terry Thomas

The 2020-2021 basketball season was definitely one for the history books. To begin, the start of the season was delayed until January 2021 as COVID-19 restrictions were finalized and implemented. All the Del Val League teams did not participate. Academy Park elected not to field a team thus shortening the League schedule to six games instead of eight. Travel restrictions caused the cancellation of games resulting in Chester’s ten game regular season schedule.  

This season also marked several firsts: 1) Chester High played Chester Charter Scholars Academy for the first “City Championship” game since St. James High School back in 1986-87; St. James Catholic High School closed in 1993. 2) The District Tournament was limited to the Top 10 teams based on their Power Rating and all games were play on the home court of the higher seed including the Championship game. 3) The State Tournament consisted of only the District Champions with games played at the home court of the higher seed with the exception of the Championship game. 

The Clippers opened the season winning their first four games before losing a close one to Imhotep Charter. The loss snapped the Clippers 7-game win streak and their 21-game win streak at the Clip Joint. They bounced back and won their remaining five regular season games. Along the way capturing the Del Val Championship, their fourth consecutive undefeated Championship. Goal #1 – Accomplished. 

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By Matt Smith

The early returns to Cardinal O’Hara’s 2021 season were cause for concern.

The Lions started the year losing three of six in the Catholic League. At the time, third-year Lions coach Chrissie Doogan challenged her players to be better and learn to finish games. She wanted her juniors and seniors to play like veterans and lead by example.

“We lost at West Catholic, the third loss of the season, and that was kind of our turning point,” said junior forward Maggie Doogan, the coach’s daughter. “It was, like, do we really want this? How badly do we want this? We had to show that we wanted it.”

Ultimately, the Lions answered their coach’s call and became a great team, one for the local history books.

After that look-in-the-mirror moment earlier in the season, the Lions rattled off nine consecutive victories and advanced to the Philadelphia Catholic League final before embarking on a three-game journey in states. It was one that culminated Saturday in a 51-27 rout of Chartiers Valley at the Giant Center in Hershey, O’Hara celebrating the school’s first PIAA basketball championship.

The outcome was never in doubt.

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